Minister of Environment and Physical Planning Abdilaqim Ademi takes part in the regular meeting of environment ministers of EU members and candidate countries in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Ademi presented the latest national measures harmonized with the EU policies that provide additional investments for protection and improvement of biodiversity, protection of national parks in Macedonia and further development of mechanisms aimed at preventing climate changes, the Environment Ministry said in a press release.

"Combining national and international resources, we were able to significantly improve the protection of species and habitats. Still, a lot needs to be done, especially in terms of operational costs of the administration in charge of environment protection and the financing of other activities. This is the area in which we are facing major issues at a national level," Ademi said in his speech.

The Environment Ministry, he added, has included environment protection into its top priorities. Regardless of how successful we will be in increasing public funds for financing biodiversity projects, the participation of the public sector is vital. It not only helps in providing additional finances, it could also ensure long-term sustainability of conservation activities, stated the press release.